Well point system



Jan. 20, 1970 J. M. VALDESPINO 3,490,376

WELL POINT SYSTEM Filed Dec. 50, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /9 a 2 I9 FIG?) 2 E 2 27 1k 2 I INVENTOR JOE M. VALDESPINO 2? 34 35' BY K Jan. 20, 1970 J. M. VALDESPINO 3,490,376

WELL POINT SYSTEM Filed Dec. 59, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOE M. VALDE sPmo ATTORNEYJ US. Cl. 105-5 United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for removing water from the earth, either above or below ground level, by constantly recirculating water under pressure through a venturi-type nozzle to create a suction on a line extending into-a supply of water to be removed so that such water will be removed by such suction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of application 7 Ser. No. 661,258 filed Aug. 17, 1967 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This'im'ention relates generally to pumps of various kinds and particularly to pumps operating in collaboration with reciprocating, centrifugal or rotary pneumatic displacement equipment which creates a vacuum to lift a column of water or other liquid.

Description of the prior art SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Normally when a sewer, pipeline or other subsurface structure is to be constructed, it is necessary that all water and other liquid be removed from the area prior to the excavation so that construction can be performed without liquid being present. After the initial water has been removed, it is desirable to keep the dewatering system in operation during the term of construction to remove'any seepage asit accumulates so that th earth will remain dry. In order to do this, applicant has provided a portable well point system including a plurality of well points extending downwardly into the earth a desired distance up to a depth of approximately30 feet and such well points have their upper ends connected to a header. A motor driven centrifugal, high efliciency pump is located adjacent to the header and is provided with inlet and outlet pipes connected to a container or reservoir of water having a liquid level located above such pipes. A nozzle is located within a fitting in the outlet pipe to form a venturi which creates a vacuum on the header.

It is an object of the invention to provide a well point or dewateringsystem which eliminates vacuum pumps,

belts, and pulleys and which generates and sustains a 3,490,376 Patented J an. 20, 1970 "ice strong vacuum hydraulically so that the removal of water to a depth of approximately 30 feet is possible. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a dewatering system which is simple and reliable in operation and which will continue to operate during the term of construction without attendance and without damage to the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the well point system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectionon th line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2. t y

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustrating a modified fortn of the invention. a p

FIG. v5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail section on the line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With continued reference to t'he drawings, a platform 10 is provided which may have wheels 11 or other ground engaging support members. A source of power 12, such as an electric motor or an internal combustion engine, is mounted on the platform 10 and has a drive shaft 13 connected to the driven shaft 14 of a centrifugal type, high efiiciency pump 15 in any desired manner as by a coupling 16. A container or reservoir 17 is mounted on the platform 10 in spaced relation to the pump 15 and is connected thereto by inlet and outlet lines or pipes 18 and 19, respectively.

' The reservoir 17 is substantially taller than the pump 15 and is adapted to contain water or other liquid 20 having a waterline 21 located above the inlet and outlet lines 18 and 19. The waterline 21 is controlled'by a discharge 22 located adjacent to the top of the reservoir and connected to a hose or pipe (not shown) for removing excesswater from the area of the well point system.

The inlet and outlet lines 18 and 19 provide communication between the reservoir and the pump so that when the pump is operated, water 20 will be withdrawn from the I 26. A nozzle 27 having a restricted throat or orifice 28 is located within the connection 23 and disposed along the path of travel of water from the pump to the reservoir. Such nozzle is located in the inlet portion 24 and extends past the side openings 26 so that as water under pressure from the pump passes through the restricted throat 28, the velocity of such water is-accelerated and the pressure is reduced to create a negative pressure or suction within the side arms 26. v

A suction line 30 is'connected at one end to one of the side' arms 26 and at the opposite end is connected to a header 31. A plurality of branch lines 32 may be connected to the header3l and disposed at an angle thereto and each of such branch lines is connected to a series of well points 33 which extend downwardly into thee arth to any desired depth up to approximately 30 feet. It isis to be used. In order to control the suction applied to the header 31 the suction line 30 may have a cutoff valve 34 and a one-way check valve 35 to prevent backflow of water when the pump is not in operation and the cutoff valve 34 is open.

An auxiliary suction line 36 is connected to the other side arm 26 and is provided with a cutoff valve 37 and a check valve 38. The auxiliary suction line 36 may be used for connection to additional well points or for miscellaneous suction service, such as for draining open ditches or the like. Either valve 34 or 37 may be cut off to apply all of the suction to the other side opening. r

The' system has been found to create sufficient suction to remove not only water, but also mud and small rocks and to discharge such material into the reservoir 17. In order to prevent the heavier larger particles of material such as rocks from entering the pump and clogging the restricted throat 28, the outlet line 19 is disposed at a higher elevation than the inlet line 18 and a screen 39 is disposed within the reservoir 17 below the outlet line and above the inlet line.

In the operation of the device a predetermined amount of water or other liquid 20 is placed within the reservoir 17 so that the water line 21 will be disposed above the inlet line 18 at all times. When the pump is operated, such pump will draw liquid from the reservoir through the inlet line 18 and force such liquid under pressure through the outlet line 19 back into the reservoir through the nozzle 27. The passage of the liquid through the restricted throat of the nozzle will create a high negative pressure or vacuum within the suction lines 30 and 36 to draw water upwardly through the well points 33 and discharge such water through the outlet line 19 into the reservoir. As additional water from the well points is discharged into the reservoir, the water line 21 will rise until it reaches the level of the discharge 22 at which time any additional liquid will be discharged from the reservoir. The reservoir will provide a constant pressure head for the pump so that water will be recirculated from the reservoir through the pump and back to the reservoir regardless of whether the well points have exhausted the liquid within the area or not. With the above system the pump can continue to operate after the initial water has been exhausted so that any seepage into the area of the well points will be removed as it enters the area of the well points and will not be permitted to accumulate.

' With reference to FIGS. 4-7, a modified form of the invention is provided in which a container or reservoir 40 of upright, generally cylindrical configuration is mounted on the platform 10. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the reservoir has a cylindrical side wall 41 with a top wall 42 fixed thereto in water-tight relation and a frusto-conical bottom wall 43 providing a sump at the lower extremity of the reservoir. Inlet and outlet lines or pipes 18 and 19, respectively, provide communication between the pump 15 and the reservoir 40 so that fluid within the reservoir will pass through the inlet line into the pump and will be forced through the nozzle 27 and back into the reservoir under pressure from the discharge side of such pump. The discharge line 19 is adapted to discharge fitlid into the reservoir generally tangentially thereof (FIG. 6) so that a swirling action will be provided within the reservoir. A discharge line 44 is connected to the reservoir 40 at a higher elevation than the outlet line 19. The normal water level within the reservoir 40 when the pump is not in operation will be substantially level with or below the discharge line 44 and above the outlet line 19.

smaller than the restricted throat 28 of the nozzle 27 so that rocks or other debris which would not pass through the throat will be collected on the upper surface of the screen 45. In order to remove such rocks periodically, the top wall 42 has an opening 46 normally covered by a manhole or cover plate 47 mounted on the top Wall 42 by screws or other fasteners 48. If desired a gasket 49 can be disposed between the cover plate 47 and the top wall 42 to preserve the air and water-tight integrity of the reservoir 40'.

Sand, gravel and other debris indicated at 50 which pass through the screen 45 will collect in the sump created by the bottom Wall 43. Periodically sand and other debris must be removed from the sump and in order to remove such materials a drain 53 is provided controlled by a manually operated valve 54.

In some instances, particularly when most of the water and other liquid has been removed from the area of the well points, it is desirable to control the amount of suction applied to such well points to prevent the removing of large amounts of sand and mud which would be discharged into the reservoir 17 or 40. In order to control the suction an orifice 55 is provided in the connection 23 in the area of the restricted throat of the nozzle 27. An air line .56 is in communication with the orifice 55 and such air line has a valve 57 to control the amount of air passing through the line 56. When water or other liquid under pressure is forced through the restricted throat 28 of the nozzle 27, the pressure on such water will be re reduced while the velocity will be increased in direct proportion to the reduction of pressure. The increase in ve-- locity will create a. suction in the lines 30 and 36 and additionally will draw air through the orifice 55 and entrain such air in the liquid being discharged through the outlet pipe 19 when the valve 57 is open. The greatest amount of suction applied to the well points 33 will be when the valve 57 is closed and no air is being entrained in the water; however, the suction can be controlled by opening the valve. The more the valve 57 is opened the more air will be introduced and the amount of suction on the well points will be reduced in direct proportion to the amount of air being introduced through the orifice 55.

In the operation of this modification the pump 15 will remove liquid from the reservoir 40 through the inlet line 18 and will force such liquid under pressure through the restricted throat 28 of the nozzle 27 and then through the outlet line 19 and back into the reservoir. The passage of the liquid through the restricted throat will create a suction on the well points to draw water or other liquid through the same and discharge such water into the reservoir 40. Since the outlet line 19 is connected to the reservoir substantially tangentially, a swirling motion will be induced in the liquid withinv the reservoir. The swirling of the liquid will create a vortex which will cause the liquid level to rise around the periphery of the reservoir and to lower in the central portion thereof. The raising of the water level around the periphery of the reservoir, as well as the introduction of additional liquid from the well points, will cause the water level to reach the discharge line 44 and force water under pressure through the discharge line. Air introduced through the orific 55 will be entrained within the water being discharged into the reservoir and such entrained air will reduce the weight of the water and thereby make such water easier to force through the discharge line 44. The screen 45 will disrupt the circulation of water and cause any air bubbles to be collapsed to prevent the air from entering the pump. Sand, gravel and other debris which passes through the screen 45 will settle into the sump at the bottom of the reservoir where it can be removed periodically through the drain 53 by opening the valve 54.

I claim:

1. A liquid removing device comprising a generally cylindrical reservoir adapted to contain a liquid, a pump located adjacent to said reservoir, inlet and outlet lines providing communication between said reservoir and the inlet and outlet portions of said pump to circulate liquid from said reservoir through said pump and back to said reservoir under pressure. a suction line connected at one end to said output let line and the opposite end extending outwardly to a supply of liquid, a venturi nozzle having a restricted throat disposed Within said outlet line and extending past said suction line connection in the direction of flow of the liquid so that liquid passing through said restricted throat will create a suction within said suction line to draw liquid from said supply of liquid and discharge the same into said reservoir, said outlet line located to discharge liquid into said reservoir and generally tangentially thereof, and a liquid discharge from said reservoir located generally tangentially thereof and disposed at an elevation higher than said outlet line, whereby liquid under pressure being introduced into said reservoir and generally tangentially thereof will create a swirling action therein.

2. The structure of claim 1 including an air line having an orifice in communication with said outlet line adjacent to said venturi nozzle, and means for regulating the amount of air introduced through said air line.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruth 103-260 X Brush 103-5 Culleton 1035 X Lung.

Mickle 103-260 X Armstrong 103-260 X Skakel et al 103262 X Schmidt et a1.

Schnabel 103-5 Berry.

US. Cl. X.R. 

